Worthington Descendants – Vol 1, No 2, Page 4 – Lincoln’s Pallbearers

Reproduction of a Newspaper Article

Lincoln’s Pallbearers

Only Two of the Number Now Living

From the Washington Star:

“Don’t you know that man?” asked a Southern member of Congress of a Star Reporter, pointing to an elderly man with gray, curly hair and mustache, who stood at the corner of Fourteenth and F. Sts. a few afternoons ago.

“That is H. G. Worthington, and few men in this world have had such a diversified life as he. He and Harry G. Dawes, of Massachusetts, who acted as Pallbearers at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln are theonly survivors. That was on April 18, 1865

“Worthington was then a Representative from Nevada, and this was by no means his first position in public life. He was a member of the California Legislature in 185I, and served together with the recently retired Justice Field. He was with Walker, the bilibuster[1], in his expedition to Nicaragua, and barely escaped the fate that befell Walker and several thousand of his followers.

“Worthington participated in the admission of three states. He is one of the few persons living, who stumped California for General G. Fremont. He was a great friend of Fremont and was his legal representative in setting up his Mariposa Estates, in California.

“He was sent by Nevada as their first Representative in Congress. Nye and Stewart came along as Senators at the same time. When Grant was in California, long before the War, he became associated with Worthington. The friendship that sprung up between them in the Golden State was severed only by Grant’s death,

“President Johnson appointed Worthington to a South American mission. Later he was recalled, and Grant appointed him Collector of the port of Charleston, S.C. He is a native of South Carolina. The people of the Palmetto State sent him to Congress, too.

“Worthington was in Ford’sTheatre the night that President Lincoln was shot, and he was a witness at the trials of the assassins. He had been with the President .at the White House in the afternoon. He spends much time in Washington, and it is always a rare treat to meet and converse with him.

The names of the Pallbearers at President Lincoln’ s funeral, as given in the Evening Star on April 18, 1865 were: Senate – Foster of Conn. Morgan of New York: Johnson of Maryland: Yates of Illinois: Wade ofOhio: Conners of California: House – Dawes of Mass: Coffroth of Pa. Worthington of North Carolina.

This article was submitted by Mrs. John W. Brachen of Jackson, Miss. Mrs. Brachen is busy working on her Genealogy. She has three grandchildren, and wants it for them. Her grandmother was a niece of Mr. Henry Gaither Worthington. They are descendants of Capt. John Worthington. Thank you so very, very much Betty. We all really appreciate your kindness.

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I believe that article was from the Evening Star dated March 11, 1898 and it is mistaken when it states that there where only living Lincoln Pallbearers at the time – Alexander Hamilton Coffroth (1828-1906) was still alive at the time and the US House Website has Coffroth as the last Lincoln Pallbearer – which is incorrect because H.G. Worthington outlived Coffroth by almost 3 years.

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About this Blog

The purpose of this Blog has changed over time. What started out to be an online version of some old Worthington Descendant Newsletters.
It has become a way to journal about my adventure into Family History, sometimes called Genealogy.
The change for me is more about finding out the stories behind the names and dates that I find about the people I find in my research.